Mississippi Police Dept. Routinely Discriminates Against Black People: DOJ

Photo: Getty Images A Mississippi police department routinely discriminated against Black people, targeting them for arrest and using excessive force against them, according to the Department of Justice per HuffPost. On Thursday (Sept. 26), the Justice Department announced the conclusion of its investigation into the police department in Lexington, a majority-Black town, which was launched after a racist audio recording from former police chief Sam Dobbins surfaced. “I shot that ni**er 119 times, OK?” Dobbins bragged in the recording, adding that he had killed 13 people while on duty. In a statement, United States Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said the Lexington police department “unlawfully” discriminates against Black people. “Black people bear the brunt of the Lexington Police Department’s illegal conduct,” Clarke said. In its report, the DOJ cited that Black people were disproportionally targeted for arrests. The Justice Department found Black people were more likely to be arrested during traffic stops than to be given citations. “98% of people arrested for traffic offenses were Black,” Clarke said. During arrests, the DOJ said Lexington police “routinely disregard constitutional rules” and “repeatedly” violate people’s rights through the use of excessive force and the sexual harassment of women. A former Lexington police...